In a few weeks, the Berkmar High Culinary team will compete in the National ProStart Invitation - the largest high school culinary competition in the nation. After claiming first place in the 2024 Georgia ProStart, it’s the second time in school history that Berkmar Culinary has placed first in the state contest and denotes another first for the program – back-to-back state champions. Another Berkmar team took third in this year’s competition.
“It’s always tough to win in this competition because the judging is so subjective, but our team put on an amazing performance under extreme conditions,” said Chef James Bryant, a ProStart Culinary State Champion instructor. “They had to perform a three-course meal in one hour, with two butane burners and no electricity.”
Kim Sy, a sophomore and team captain, had this to say: “When our chef offered our team an opportunity to compete in this competition, we all blindly accepted his challenge. We had no idea how this would happen but our chef asked us to trust the process.
“Now we are Georgia state champions and the best of friends,” she continued, “and we want to do our best to represent Berkmar High, GCPS, Lilburn and the state of Georgia at the nationals. “
The other Berkmar Culinary participants are sophomores Damaris Diaz, Dulce Rosas, Cynthia Gutierrez and freshman Nghi Phan.
For their competitive moxie, the Berkmar Culinary students and their chef are our April Citizens of the month. They will represent Georgia at the National ProStart Invitational, their second appearance in the storied contest, April 26-28 in Baltimore, Maryland . Donations are being accepted to curtail expenses at https://gofund.me/d7e3a8e7.
“They will probably be the youngest team at Nationals this year,” Bryant said. “Now, many of our students are becoming more interested in Berkmar Culinary. We look forward to representing Berkmar High, GCPS and the state of Georgia.”
